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Best Guitar Pedal Reviews

Expert Buying Advice for Guitar Pedals

Any guitar player knows he or she loves looking for the best guitar pedal of 2018 and does so regularly. Some players like to have as many effects as their budgets allow them to, whereas others test many models before sticking to a limited number.

It really doesn’t matter if you’re an aspiring guitar player or a well-versed one. The fact is that what you need to do before buying a model instead of another is read some of the best guitar pedal reviews out there. You might find some on the official websites of retailers.

Some other are available on YouTube or sites belonging to the manufacturers, and it’s these ones you need to look for, because they’ll make you understand how the effect actually sounds.

What type of guitar pedal are you looking for?

There are many variations of the top rated guitar pedals of 2018, but if you’ve just started playing, you need to know that effects generally revolve around 4 grand themes: distortion, dynamics, reverb and delay, and pitch modulation. Pedals usually have the same purpose as the themes we were mentioning. Consequently, you can buy distortion, wah, reverb & delay, chorus, flanger, phaser, EQ and multi-effects pedals.

A general rule to purchasing guitar pedals is that the multi-effects ones will usually sound less impressive than the single-effect ones. It might seem very tempting to pick up a multi-effects one, because you might eventually save some bucks. The reality is that they can’t produce more than 5 or 6 sounds at the same time, thus forcing you to own more than just one pedal anyway.

There’s yet another issue when shopping for guitar pedals. It’s practically impossible to find one which comes with multiple effects and which also features exactly the ones you’d like to own. That’s why the majority of guitar players ultimately end up buying more smaller, single-effect pedals instead of a complex one.

Brand

If you want to make sure you get a top-notch pedal that you actually like using, choose one manufactured by the following brands: Ibanez, TC Electronic, Boss, Dunlop, Behringer, Vox or Electro-Harmonix.

Price

Pedals can cost anything from $60 to $1500.

Top Guitar Pedals in 2018

After having consulted the best guitar pedal reviews out there, we can honestly declare that the following three models are must-haves. If you’re a busy guitar player, you might want to buy a multi-effects one. We recommend you make the right choice only after you’ve considered the type of music you like playing.

As stated in the buying guide, if you’re a busy guitar player with many gigs to come, you might be interested in purchasing a multi-effects pedal. This Zoom model is a decent one, considering the fact that it allows users to store up to 297 original tones. It also comes with a looper function and a phrase recording and overdubbing of 60 seconds.

Every effect is basically accompanied by an LCD display which helps users understand exactly what’s going on in matters of sound.

If you’d like to test your drumming talents, you can do so with this pedal. Electronic drum effects will of course never replace the real thing, but this pedal does come with 40 different rhythm patterns and a tap key that lets users set the tempo they’re comfortable with.

This one has been named the best guitar pedal 2018 by many buyers, and the fact is that the clarity of sound comes from the ZFX-IV processor featured by the pedal.

There are more than 30 users who thought that this device was worthy enough of a 5-star rating. Having received some of the best guitar pedal reviews out there, it wouldn’t hurt if you gave this model a shot.

Although it’s slightly cheaper than the Zoom model we presented above, this Boss will surely not disappoint you. Boss has a long history of manufacturing guitar effects and is one of the most appreciated companies in the industry. The model we’re discussing comes with 3 knobs for real-time control and editing. The pedal sound library is organized by type, and there are 10 variations within each aforementioned type.

Thanks to a user-friendly interface and a practically unbeatable operating system, this pedal has also received some of the best guitar pedal reviews.

It seems that players mostly appreciate the fact that they can modify the effects according to their own needs or requirements. While some users claim it’s the pedal they’ve wanted for all their life, some others underline the fact that it works great with Linux and other Boss pedals.

As is the case with other multi-effects pedals, it’s difficult to work with it during live concerts. It’s a great alternative for studio recordings, but it would take a reasonable amount of time to perform all of the necessary changes in real-time.

As for mentions, there have been some buyers who have stated that the official manual could use some additional work in matters of comprehensibility.

This one’s a classic Wah pedal which will probably go down in history as the most popular Wah effect of all. Over time, the same model has been used by outstanding musicians such as Eric Clapton, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Guy. The model has been on the market since the 60s and it certainly looks like it’s going to stay on the market for a while.

It comes with a sturdy construction and a durable setting and it only features a single color: black. We’re not saying this would necessarily hurt the egos of Blues or Rock players, considering they’re great fans of the black color, and of Wah pedals.

The Crybaby comes in a standard size: 10” x 4” x 2 – ½”. Although this one’s powered by the classic Dunlop adapter, the last one isn’t included in the box. If you feel like using it with a battery, you can do so with this pedal, considering it also works with a 9 volt one.

If you ever feel uncertain about the pedal, or if you’re experiencing any issues, make sure you use the one-year warranty it comes with.

There are more than 100 people who’ve offered the Crybaby a 5-star rating. That’s because it deserves it.